Horses seized from Baltimore street vendors to be returned

Seventeen horses seized from "arabbers," street vendors who sell produce from carts in Baltimore, would be returned to their owners under a deal set to be approved by the city's spending board.

The arabbers plan to pick up their horses as soon as Wednesday from the Howard County horse rescue farm where they have been boarded.

Under the agreement submitted to the Board of Estimates, the city and the Humane Society would each pay half of the $40,000 boarding costs of keeping the horses. Owners would agree to training and inspections by the Humane Society and the health department.

Health officials closed the horses' stable in November, saying they were unclean and infested with rats. But owners say the city padlocked the stable two days before the horses were taken, preventing them from cleaning it.